The survey was conducted by Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, a professor at Dalhousie University. It found that 7.1 percent of Canadians identified as vegetarian, and 2.3 percent identified as vegan.

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“As we were collecting data, we started to realize that this is rich data that will help us understand where veganism and vegetarianism is going in the country,” said Charlebois.

According to the survey’s findings, Canadians under 35 were three times as likely to eat a plant-based diet than those who were 49 or older.

“Those are really, really high numbers,” said Charlebois.

“Even though we believe the overall rates have not gone up, they could go up over the next couple of decades as a result of seeing such a high number of young consumers committing to speciality diets,” Charlebois added. “That will actually impact food demand over the next few decades and I suspect the food industry will need to adapt.”

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And evidence shows that it may not just be Canada that’s seeing a surge in young people eating a vegetarian or vegan diet.

Charlebois said that a changing attitude toward meat could be part of the reason behind young people’s shift toward plant-based diets.

“A lot of studies are actually discouraging consumers from eating red meats specifically,” said Charlebois. “Even the World Health Organization has made processed meats a category one product, which means it could cause cancer, at the same level as asbestos.”

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Thinking Of Going Veg?

Are you considering making the switch to a plant-based diet? Here are some simple vegan recipes for beginners from the Food Monster App!